Trade and investment across Africa is being financed by Nigerian banks, which have expanded into more than 30 countries across the continent since a 2009 banking crisis in the West African country, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the report, the global economic crisis gave Nigerian banks the opportunity to expand in Sub-Saharan Africa. “Multinational European and American banks downsized their presence, creating opportunity for African banks to take that niche,” it says. The report raises concerns about the monitoring of cross-border monetary flows throughout the region, and recommends that the Nigerian Central Bank provide greater oversight in order to protect the Nigerian banking system.
